Tray mounting for counter and chair use



April 18, 1950 cs. P. STANTON my MOUNTING FOR COUNTER AND CHAIR Us}:

Filed July 26, 1946 INVENTOR GEORGE. P STANTON ATTORNEY Patented Apr. 18, 1 95 6 UNIKT- ED :"-*S TATES ICE TRAY-MOUNTING FQR; GQUNTERAND fGHAlR, USE

George P? Stanton?worcesteig' Mass. irg tpplicationyl lly 26, 1946;SerialNo. 86,550 fizifilaims. (0125155 123) employed in conjunction with. a .counter,,or-.table,

- and an associated "chair.

The object of the invention is to provide a portable tray for the reception of food or other articles, with the tray being so constructed as to be mounted between a store counter, table, or other support and an associated chair or stool of the type commonly employed at food bars. When so mounted the tray is adapted to serve as a small table for the reception of food in a position where it is readily accessible to a child seated in the chair. Therefore a tray provided with a mounting in accordance with the present invention, possesses all of the advantages of a high chair and can be used in any place along the counter in association with any chair, without requiring any changes in the construction of either the chair or the counter.

The above and other advantageous features of the invention will hereinafter more fully appear from the following description considered in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Fig. l is a View in side elevation of a tray embodying the present invention shown in association with a counter and a chair.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a rear View of the chair and the tray.

Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing a modification in the form of the tray mounting.

Referring now to the drawings, the tray I may be of any desired form and for purposes of illustration is shown as providing a fiat bottom or platform member 2 surrounded by side walls 3, with the front of the tray being curved inwardly. The improved mounting for the tray I consists of a pair of arms 4 secured to the bottom 2, with the arms extending upwardly at the rear of the tray I and each terminating in hook 5 that is adapted to engage the edge of a counter 6. The length of the hooks 5 is such that the tray I will be supported by the hooks a considerable distance below the top of the counter 6, and a single central hook can be used.

The arms 4 extend forwardly on either side of the tray I and each arm terminates in a head or fork 7. As best shown in Fig. 2, each head 1 provides an open slot 8 that is adapted to engage the side members 9 of a chair Ill. The chair I0 may be of any desired construction such as the fixed counter type of chair shown, and the heads "'I,,,on,.,the,arms 4 are adapted to engageltheside .members 9 .of; the..chair neaii. its seat I I Therefore, .Whenfthe tray l..'placed..inposition withthe hooks ,5,v engagingtheedge of the counter 6, and 'the heads I ofthe arms 4 engaging the side members 9 of the chair, the bottom 2 of the tray is firmly supported between the counter and the chair in such a position as to be accessible to a child seated in the chair, as indicated in dotted lines. The tray with its mounting provides all the convenience of a high chair for serving food to a child at any location along the counter 1 where the chair l0 may be placed.

Referring now to Fig. 4 there is shown a modification in the construction of the supporting arms, wherein the hook 5 provides a lug I2 spaced from the hook so as to embrace the over-hanging top I3 of a counter, and so prevent upward movement of the tray. The modified construction also provides an arrangement wherein each tray arm is adjustable longitudinally so as to permit any movable chair to be placed indifferent positions with respect to the counter to suit the size of the child seated in the chair.

In order to permit such adjustments, each arm consists of a hollow outer portion I4 secured to the bottom 2 of the tray and an inner portion l5 that is slidable within the portion I4. A spring I6 is contained within the outer portion I4 with its end bearing on the inner portion I5, so as to cause the head I of each arm to yieldingly engage the side member 9 of the chair. Therefore with the construction shown in Fig. 4, the chair which is shown as being of a type with legs can be moved closer to the counter 6, if desired, with the compression of the springs I6 serving to hold the hooks 5 and the heads I firmly in engagement with the counter and sides of the associated chair. A pin I! carried by the portion I4 prevents the portion I5 from becoming separated in its extended position.

From the foregoing, it is apparent that by the present invention there is provided an improved mounting for a childs portable food tray that has all the capabilities of a high chair and can be employed at any location along the counter in connection with any chair.

I claim:

1. A portable tray structure comprising, a fiat platform member, a pair of arms spaced laterally along the back edge of said platform member and extending upwardly away from the plane of said platform member, each of said arms terminating in a hook element which extends away from its associated arm so as to be disposed in parallelism with said platform member, a second pair of arms spaced laterally along the front edge of said platform member with one end portion of each slidingly mounted endwise of itself upon said platform member, the other end portion of each of said second mentioned arms extending downwardly away from the plane of said platform member in a direction substantially opposite to the first mentioned arms, and a fork member being formed upon the free end portion of each of said second mentioned arms.

2. A portable tray structure adapted for removable support, between a horizontal table top and a chair having vertical frame members and a horizontal seat, said structure comprising a flat tray having pairs of spaced arms extending in opposite directions from the edges thereof, with one pair of arms extending upwardly and forwardly from the tray to engage an edge of the 7 table top for supporting one edge of the tray at a predetermined distance below said top, and with the other pair of said arms extending downwardly and rearwardly from the tray and terminating in fork portions for engaging said chair frame members at their junction with the chair seat, for supporting the other edge of the tray at a predetermined distance above the seat, whereby said tray is held level and is prevented from lateral displacement between said table top and chair.

GEORGE P. STANTON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS 

